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Summary

He was that amazing continuing in verse 48 when his parents saw him they were astonished and his mother said to him child why have you treated us like this look your father and I have been searching for you in great anxiety is Mary distraught here is she angry is she actually scolding Jesus we have to remember that Jesus though he's holy and completely human he is holy and completely without sin there would never have been a time to scold Jesus he would never do anything to receive or deserve a scolding he was literally the perfect child it's really interesting some of the nostate gospels which are writings that are not part of our scripture they tell these secret truths which are not actually truth their heresies about Christ we are to know only what scripture reveals but there are ways that these nostic writers wrote about Jesus as child trying to give us these ideas of what he was like and they wrote of him creating clay birds and bringing them to life or blinding towns people because they had offended him kind of like a playground bully would that is not that does not jive with who we know Jesus to be that does not live with a perfect human or the divine so the nostic gospels are heresy and they are not true but it's very interesting that they are trying to put forth that Jesus would have these minor infractions against him as a child Mary would never have any reason to scold Jesus what we do have in scripture is that Jesus was filled with wisdom and he was in the favor of God he had the favor of God upon him Mary was never unaware of what the angel Gabriel had told her that he would be holy he will be called the son of God so more likely than scolding or being upset or angry Mary was most likely bewildered be bewildered of why Jesus had not gone with them and where he had been found we continue Jesus responded to them in verse 49 why were you searching for me did you not know that I must be in my father's house Jesus had no fear of being without his parents even the bravest of 12 year old usually want their parent at some point usually don't want to be on their own for three days but Jesus had no fear and he had no need to fear he also in this is showing where his priorities lie they always lie with his father his father in heaven and he's correcting Mary in this reference she has said that she and his father have been searching for him but he corrects her lovingly and says wouldn't I be in my father's house would I not be about my father's business correcting who his true father is but they did not understand what he said to them how many inscriptions in Jesus life before the resurrection really understood what he was saying time and time again his disciples are trying to ask him to explain further what he's saying he will tell them point blank what's happening to him or what is going to happen to him or who he is and they still don't quite get it it still doesn't completely compute with them they witnessed the transfiguration in yet they were still confused that he would be heading to Jerusalem to the cross only to be resurrected the limited understanding of humanity made for a confusion for Mary and Joseph at what he was saying they didn't quite get why he was in the temple or why it would be so important for him to be only about his father's business continuing in verse 51 then he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was obedient to them his mother treasured all these things in her heart and Jesus increased in wisdom and in years and in divine and human favor Jesus was kind of in enigma he was never lost no one ever had to search for him and yet he confused them he'd be well-dored them he was about his father's business when he was born he was about his father's business when he was 12 and what we have mostly of Christ and his public ministry was that he was always about his father's business and his father's business is to seek out find and save the lost that is ultimately his father's business and the truth is that while Jesus was never lost even in his humanity we in our own flesh in our own selfishness in our own desires we are lost we are lost from our relationship with the Lord we are lost from our relationship with the father but Jesus was sent to seek the lost which means that Jesus was sent to seek you and he was sent to seek me and the exciting thing in this is that not only was he sent to seek us but he found us the fact that you're sitting in these seats right now hearing these words means that Christ himself has sought and found you and not only did Christ himself seek and find you but Christ himself sought found you died for you paid for you redeemed you he's not just tagging you telling you you're found he's tagging you telling you that you're found and you are forgiven through his blood in the second article of the Apostle's Creed Martin Luther gives an explanation saying I believe that Jesus Christ true God begotten of the father from eternity and also true man born of the virgin Mary is my Lord who has redeemed me a lost and condemned person purchased and won me from all sins from death and from the power of the devil not with gold or silver but with his holy precious blood and with his innocent suffering and death that I may be his own and live under him in his kingdom and serve him in everlasting righteousness, innocence and blessedness just as he has risen from the dead lives and reigns to all eternity it sounds so simple it's so clear and so simple and yet we try to remain lost we try to convince the Lord that we're not good enough that we should remain lost but my brothers and sisters you are not lost you are found as a parent it was really scary for me to lose my child and I searched everywhere called to him every few seconds until I found him it is no different with our father in heaven as our father or as our Heavenly Father God did not rest until he gave the way to find us until he provided his own son to seek us and to find us and to redeem us when we feel lost or when we tried to convince God that we should remain lost I invite you to open up that small cataclysm look at what Martin Luther has said surely surely it can't be as simple as that and yet when you search the scriptures and you find what it says about the lost it is as simple as that Jesus said to his disciples you did not choose me but I chose you it is made clear in scripture that any who are lost God will find God will call and God will redeem is it really that simple when I looked for Ezra it really was simple to find him he did come when I called him Christ is calling you and he is saying come you are found you're found Let's open up our Bibles, please, to the seventh chapter of the book of Hebrews this morning for our study. Going back into verse 4 again, just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love, then he goes on to say, he destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ. You recall as we were in the fifth chapter last week, we were taking a look at characteristics of the early church, that by God's grace might be manifest in our life as a people of God as we gather as the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul was angry as you looked around Athens he was infuriated when he saw all of these false gods in this idol worship why was Paul so angry because God hates idolatry let's go on verse 17 of chapter 17 so he argued in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons here are God fearing Gentiles so he argued in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons and also in the marketplace every day with those who happen to be there also some epicurian and stoic philosophers debated with him some says what this is babler want to say what is this babler want to say that's closer that word babler there is a really ugly insult it's really ugly literally in the in the Greek it means seed picker and the image is of birds indiscriminately picking and pecking and eating seeds like someone who picks up pieces of knowledge but really doesn't know what they're talking about it's not just someone who keeps going on and on and on and on of them out here this is a really ugly ugly insult he's a seed picker we go on second part of verse 18 other said he seems to be a proclaimer of foreign divinities this was because he was telling the good news about Jesus and the resurrection so they took him and brought him to the aryopagus and asked him may we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting in the past the aryopagus was the highest court at this point it's no longer the highest court in fact it was a it was a place and the court was identified by the place the aryopagus and what the aryopagus did what this court did is they would pronounce judgment on religions and philosophies and so here's Paul talking about this foreign deity it sounded like to them and so they go to the aryopagus because they want a judgment here they want a judgment on this religion or this philosophy or whatever it is that Paul is talking about we go on verse 20 it sounded rather strange to us so we would like to know what it means now all the Athenians and the foreigners living there would spend their time in nothing but telling or hearing something new they were always searching but never finding they were enthralled with a new religion or philosophy they were just enthralled if something was new and what were some of the ideas that were being with him some said what does this seed picker want to say some epicurian philosophers well that goes back to epicurius about three and a half centuries before the birth of Jesus one of the ideas that was being bantied about three and a half centuries old and everything old is exactly what they were experiencing see epicurius came along and said God is indifferent to his creation God really doesn't care about his creation there's there's no afterlife so really you just try and live a good and virtuous life and then you've been he call it good and by this now the first century it had now wrapped in the understanding of hedonism which is you simply pursue pleasure you simply want to keep upon yourself as much pleasure as you be married for tomorrow you die and everything old is then you had these stoic philosophers those back to about the same time as epicurius this two is old it's three and a half centuries old goes back to this philosopher by the name of Xenocene that what is really important in life is self mastery self mastery and detachment you detach from happiness you detach from pain you become indifferent to life you just detach it was also pantheistic which meant that God was like like the soul of the universe so here you have these ideas being bantied about some of them from epicurian philosophy some of them from stoic philosophy in the over three centuries old everything old this yeah but when you reflect on our lives it's interesting isn't it how everything that's old can become new again in our lives I don't know one person here today that would say I'm an epicurian an uphunter how in the subtlest of ways that old epicurian philosophy can become new in our life where we and even the subtlest of ways think that well God must let's just be indifferent to me I pray and another never seems to happen maybe God is just kind of past me over that sense of epicurian philosophy even in the most subtle of ways where it's that understanding that God is indifferent that epicurian philosophy of eat drink and be merry for tomorrow you die nothing now be honest here is that ever creep in subtly no we gotta get the most out of this life because the years are really fleeting here is ever crossed your mind you ever think and maybe there is nothing after this you're tempted to think that where the sense of the desires that we have becomes paramount the sense of well you know life is about making myself happy and so how can I bring the pleasures of life more into my life when nobody comes right out and says I'm an epicurian nobody comes right out and says my philosophy for life is eat drink and be merry for tomorrow you die will you get that in the secular world I don't think there'd be one of us here that would ever say well that's my philosophy of life but does it creep in in one fashion or another and when it does you know what it is it's everything old is now same thing about stoicism I'm not talking about a personality difference among all of us you know I'm a difficult time some people can be more emotionally reserved than others come some can be more expressive and that term they're more stoic is applied to them I'm not talking about that at all here talking about the creeping in our lives of what can occur in terms of of of an difference a pulling back a cocooning of ourselves so that there isn't there's in relationships with others on deep and meaningful ways it's a cocooning of ourselves where we would prefer just simply shut the blinds and just be alone it's it's a pullback from interfacing with our neighbor and caring with our neighbor it's a it's a it's a pullback all of a sudden the world we are in different to it and someone comes to us and says I'm not religious but I'm spiritual do we ever not our head because think what was just said what does that mean I'm religious or I'm not religious but then I'm spiritual do we ever in the subtlest of ways start to create our own God devoid of the understanding and self definition of God of himself in Holy Scripture and we defined our own walk of faith with a God of our own creating and in the subtlest of ways we find ourselves leaning more towards those who simply say I don't associate with any religion I'm just I'm just creep in so subtle so subtle but it can creep in for us do you know what happens when it does well everything old is but amidst the creeping of that which is old into the newness of our lives God comes with his song and his lyric look at the second part of verse 18 again others said he seems to be a proclaimer of foreign divinities this was because he was telling the good news about Jesus and the resurrection the good news about Jesus this is even then an old story by this point it's the old story of the Lord Jesus Christ who brings the newness of the victory of the cross and the resurrection into our lives it is the newness of the gospel that comes every time it is proclaimed it is the newness of that old gospel when we receive that word of absolute that word of forgiveness and we are struck a new that indeed today because of that old old story that old old lyric it's all new in the forgiveness of the Lord Jesus Christ it's God's lyric of forgiveness through the shed blood of Jesus it's God's lyric of life eternal that the tomb is empty it is God's lyric of being claimed in waters of baptism it is God's lyric that this is not all there is but that this is one more day in all of eternity for the Christian it's that old old lyric that is new again for us each day out of a fester put it this way every time the gospel is proclaimed we are hit a new with a lightning bolt of the good news absolutely absolutely and the old becomes new Paul experienced that everything old was new again in the worst possible way and what we see through the proclamation of Paul is that there's the experience that everything old is new again in the most glorious way as the gospel of Jesus Christ makes it all new new to live in his forgiveness now that's why we sang before the sermon now is the moment now is the time now in the darkness of today through the blood of Jesus and so we sing and even though you beat 845 may I encourage even greater boldness at the end of the sermon we sing today with joy that everything old is amen Let's open our Bible's please to the very first chapter of the Book of Acts. Encourage one another that Christ will come again and yet we hear those words that Christ will come again and we fear the second coming and we tremble thinking that Christ will come again because we know the mess and the chaos that is in our house. They're encouraging because we're promised that Jesus will return and they're encouraging because we know that though Jesus will come like a thief in the night he will be here when we least expect it or don't know that it's coming that he's coming we have nothing to fear because we are not children of the darkness we are no longer children of sin captive and bonded with in the slavery of sin but instead we are children of light think about when Jesus appeared first to his disciples after his resurrection they were hiding there was chaos there was fear they were trembling and Jesus did not knock waiting for them to answer waiting for them to invite him in they had to be really scared when all of a sudden he was just standing there he didn't ask he just entered much like his disciples his first disciples where he just entered he did not wait for them to invite him in and Jesus is not knocking at the door of your life waiting until you can clean up and waiting until you will graciously open the door for him to come in the beauty and the wonderment of our Lord Jesus Christ is that the messy the chaos it doesn't frighten him he is not obliged and does not feel obliged to wait outside until we can get our house in order our houses in order messy doesn't frighten Jesus not even hoarding messy hoarding messy doesn't frighten Jesus it doesn't scare him off you look at his ministry he healed a woman who had been hemorrhaging for 12 years he physically touched the leper he would speak to the adulterous and the prostitute he wasn't frightened off by the man possessed by legion the many demons he walked with tax collectors he called for Lazarus who had been dead for days to be brought out of the tomb messy didn't scare Jesus in his ministry and messy certainly does not scare Jesus as our resurrected Lord Jesus went throughout his ministry not fearing those whose lives were messy not fearing those who were in a chaotic state whether they were possessed by demons or diseased with leprosy he continued to go forth facing the very messy crucifixion that was looming ahead of him he knew fully well what his messy death would mean in Isaiah the prophet wrote see my servant shall prosper he shall be exalted and lifted up and shall be very high just as there were many who were astonished at him so marred was his appearance beyond human semblance and his form beyond that of mortals his body would be abused and tortured so badly that he would be completely disfigured and unrecognizable he hung there tortured with my sin he was disfigured with your sin he was made unrecognizable by the sin of all creation in the series that we've had over the past couple of months resolution gods resolutions we went through several ways in the resolutions that God had made and how he would act toward his people toward his chosen disciples of whom we can be counted he was resolved to forget sin he was resolved to lift the burden of the law he was resolved to give us a new heart and a new spirit to never leave us to have plans for our future he was resolved to instruct us he was resolved that he would be with us so that we would not be overwhelmed or consumed by the problems of this world that he would be the God of the Exodus of the past present and future making us new and throughout this series we have seen with each of these resolutions how indeed he did come through our resolution the final resolution we are talking about today is the resolution that he will come again God is resolved to come again he has promised to come again if you look at Revelation chapter 22 verse 20 the one who testifies to these things says surely I am coming soon Jesus promised that he would come again and not only come again but to come soon what is soon what is soon no one knows we don't have the date we don't have the time we don't know how much time there is to clean up we don't know how much time there is to tell people that Jesus is coming and coming soon but we can look around us we can look at the world around us and we see that it is full of war and rumors of war the earth groans under the weight of men we disregard others come Lord Jesus come and this side of heaven as we await the coming of Christ as we look for him to come this side of heaven is not easy this side of heaven though we are saints we still struggle with the old Adam or the old evil a Eve sorry the nature of the flesh that is hemorrhaging in sin the lepros disease of greed and selfishness the adulterous bride of God who is unfaithful to Christ her bride groom the nature in which we are dead in sin if we continue in our reading the final words of God holy and living word for the saints is the grace of the Lord Jesus be with all the saints amen the grace of the Lord Jesus be with all the saints the grace the free freely given freeing love and mercy of Jesus Christ be with you as long as we remain on this side of heaven those who have been called into faith by the Holy Spirit will continue to need the constant grace and continued grace of God and we are promised that he will continue to pour out his grace upon us to pour out his mercy, his love, his forgiveness upon us and we will be carried in his grace the messy of the sin did not scare or frightened Christ the messy of our sin is exactly the messy that he experienced upon the cross the messy of our sin is exactly what he exchanged with us so that we could be given his unblemished holy and completely clean righteousness and we are carried through constantly turning over again and again the sins which are so messy in our lives and again and again we are promised the grace of Jesus Christ is with us we are promised to be carried in his righteousness and given his righteousness so when we think of this world when we consider the world around us it makes sense to cry out in that leak come come come Lord Jesus because we know that he is coming indeed and we know that we are assured that we are children of light because we have been forgiven our sin has been forgiven our messy has been taken from us and we have been cleansed completely through the blood of Jesus Christ so we can cry out come with all insurance but then we look around or we think of people who we know who those words come Lord Jesus strikes fear into their heart because they don't know Jesus and they don't know the offer that Jesus has for them they only know it if it is told to them my brothers and sisters you are the saints the disciples of today the disciples who are to carry his word his promise of love mercy and forgiveness to the ends of the earth the commission that he has given to all his disciples so that there would be more disciples for him together when he comes again who do you know who do you know who is not ready for Christ to pop in who do you know that is looking at the house in the chaos and mess and disarray and fears the truth of Christ go to them call them speak to them share with them the cleansing word of Jesus Christ who does not fear the messy but cleanses the messy disgusting torture of sin and takes it from them and cleans them with his blood with his forgiveness because he loves them go to them share that word with them Jesus promised that he would come again Jesus is resolved to come again and we know that indeed he will come again he said surely I am coming soon and so we too with the Apostle John proclaim Amen come Lord Jesus Would you open up your Bibles, please, with me, for our time of study today to Romans the 8th chapter.

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